18 Essex County police and firefighters to receive valor medals

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerHonoree firefighter Edwin Irizarry of Ladder 12 adjusts his jacket prior to walking out with other honorees at the start of the Valor Awards luncheon today at Mayfair Farms in West Orange.

WEST ORANGE -- Police and fire departments across Essex County gathered today to honor 18 police officers and firefighters who distinguished themselves for acts of bravery at the annual Valor Awards luncheon.

"These are the best of the best," said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, a member of the 200 Club of Essex County board, which sponsored the event. "They are willing to put their lives in jeopardy to protect the public. There is no higher calling."

The luncheon and ceremony were held at the Mayfair Farms banquet hall in West Orange. The 200 Club, which provides money to relatives of a fallen officer or firefighter, gave to each honoree a medal, a special ribbon for their uniform and a $1,000 stipend.

"The history of our country is ordinary people doing extraordinary things," said Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the main guest speaker. "They go out every single day to protect the freedom of others."

Those honored include:

- New Jersey State Police Trooper Michael Leonardi and Essex County Sheriff's Detective Christopher Imperiale, who chased and apprehended an armed robbery suspect in a vehicle from a Newark gas station in Jan. 2008. During the struggle, Leonardi tried to pull the robber out of the vehicle, but the armed man reached for a handgun. Leonardi was forced to fire two rounds in self-defense.

- Irvington Police Detective Roman Melenka, who was wounded in April 2008 when he stopped an armed robbery at a tobacco and stationary store. Two masked men had entered the store and ordered everybody to the floor. One of the robbers spotted Melenka and shot him in the left arm, forcing the officer to fire back.

- Newark Police Sgt. Anthony Venancio and Officers Carlos Alvarado, Emanuel Pereira and Juan Ramos, who subdued a man who waved a MAC-11 machine gun loaded with hollow point bullets at them in June 2008. They also found a brick of heroin in the man's pants.

- Verona Police Sgt. Michael Ruglio and Officers Joel Martin and Steven Young, who rescued a distraught woman from her husband who threatened her and the officers with two 13-inch carving knives in September 2008.

- Maplewood Firefighter/EMT Christopher Ariemma, who pulled a woman out of a burning house in October 2008.

The 200 Club, also honored the West Essex Technical Rescue Team, a special firefighter crew made up of departments from Cedar Grove, Montclair, North Caldwell, Roseland, and West Orange. In June 2008, they dug out a contractor stuck in a 8-feet deep trench in West Orange.